Surabhi Graduates from Ashoka University

On 31st May, at 01:36 AM, Surabhi received an email from Ashoka University. In the attachment was her degree proclaiming her completion of Bachelors of Arts (Honors) in History, signed by the Chancellor Rudrangshu Mukherjee and Vice Chancellor, Malabika Sarkar.

She woke me up and I was lost down the memory lane.

Long time ago, when she was in primary school, I had made a deal with Surabhi. Whenever we will visit Delhi together, I will take her to one of the historical monuments for a visit. That was her condition to visit her grand-parents, and I had gladly accepted it. While at home, she would barely go out to play or do any physical activity, but I remember the day she went to Red Fort for the first time. She walked for hours, wanted to see every little stuff, asking many questions. No complaints about tiring, not even worrying about food.

When she came to class 6th, I thought I will introduce her to online learning, to encourage her to learn new things on her own. Initially, I would sit with her to watch the videos on Khan Academy. What she enjoyed the most were videos on French Revolution.

She must have been in the 8th class when one day I received a phone call from my friend, Sudhir Jain, Director of IIT Gandhinagar that the next day a team from the IIT was going to visit Dholavira, one of the largest Harappan site. What was interesting was that the team included Dr. R S Bisht, the famous archaeologist, and the Director of excavations at Dholavira starting 1989. He himself would be explaining the site to the people. The team also included Prof. Michel Danino, the famous indologist, whom we had heard about a lot. It was certainly exciting for even someone like me, with no formal training in history or archaeology. But we only had a few hours to reach Gandhinagar from Kanpur. So, I declined to join citing the impracticality of this. When Surabhi returned from school, I casually told her about the trip, and she was like, we just need to go at any cost. Within half an hour, she had changed, had food, and packed for a 3-day trip, and I had booked a taxi to Lucknow Airport, some very expensive last minute tickets from Lucknow to Delhi and Delhi to Ahemdabad. We managed to reach there late night, and left for Dholavira in the early morning. We had a great time listening to Dr. Bisht and Prof. Danino about Harappan civilization, and importance of Dholavira and so on.

Next year, Prof. Michel was visiting IIT Kanpur for a semester, and he was giving a series of lectures on the history and heritage of India. The only person who attended each and every lecture was this little school going girl, and she would always sit in the front row and sometimes even ask questions.

It was no surprise then that in 10th class, she told us that she will be studying history and other social science subjects in 11th and 12th classes. The problem was to find good schools where she could follow her passion. We went to a few schools in Kanpur exploring options. Everywhere, the first question would be whether she is an academically poor child and expecting very poor marks in 10th class. That usually would be the last question, since we weren't interested in her studying in a school where those studying social science subjects were assumed to be academically deficient students. So, we moved to Delhi.

As soon as we settled in Delhi, we had to go for certain pilgrimages - National Museum, Old Fort and Red Fort, Qutab Minar, and some lesser known places. Her 12th class history project was about Harappa Civilization. She made us take her to Lothal in Gujarat during that time. And her school project was no less than a thesis.

In between, when she had completed 11th class, Ashoka University had a one week Young Scholar Program for school students, and we sent Surabhi for that. After that program, she was completely convinced that this is where she wanted to study. She had a brochure of Ashoka with her, and throughout 12th class, whenever she will lack motivation to study, she will take out that brochure and tell herself that she needed to study harder because she wanted to be in Ashoka.

She did unexpectedly well in 12th class, including getting a perfect 100 marks out of 100 in history. She applied for admission to all the top liberal arts programs of the country, and thankfully, received admission offers from all of them, except Ashoka, because we had applied there very late. Her marks would have enabled her to get admission in any Delhi University college she wanted. We went on a national tour visiting these institutions, and were very impressed with most of them. We were totally confused, but on 2nd June, 2017, she received an email from Ashoka University, offering her admission. That settled the issue. We had already heard from a few history experts that Ashoka had the best history department in the country, at least among the institutions offering under-graduate program.

I thought she was now on her own and I didn't have to take her to historical places any more. How wrong I was. Her canvas had just become larger. Now, she would no longer demand that I show her places in Delhi. It had to be a different city whenever there were vacations in Ashoka. Not only did I see historical places in Kanpur which I hadn't seen in my decades of staying there, but I had accompanied her to Lucknow, Jhansi, Gwalior, Agra, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and a few more.

The Ashoka years have been great. I have not heard many college students saying that they enjoy academics in their college. But Ashoka was different. Besides academics, the number of clubs and other extra-curricular activities were amazing. She herself organized a couple of history trips and university organized a few more. The quality of teaching and learning was such that at the beginning of every semester, she would be crying about having to forego so many good courses. She could only do 4-5 courses in a semester while she wanted to be doing 10 or even more courses. I am not sure such enthusiasm for learning is there in many institutions.

As a parent, I thank all the faculty members of Ashoka University. Also, I thank all the founders of Ashoka who had the vision of creating such a fine liberal arts university in India. Because of Ashoka, she has grown into a sensitive and confident young lady who has a keen understanding and appreciation for our history and heritage. And blessed is she for she could study what she was passionate about and not having to follow the herd, and Ashoka was an enabler for that.

Coming back to June, 2020, she was sad about one thing. Her convocation had been postponed indefinitely. She didn't know if it would ever happen. So we decided to create a little convocation experience at home. Got a convocation gown for her and for myself, printed the Ashoka degree, had a backdrop printed which is similar to what they would have in the real convocation at Ashoka. I even gave a small speech to her. We even had a Chief Guest for this "convocation." Prof. Sudhir Jain, Director, IIT Gandhinagar, agreed to give a speech on video conferencing. We had lots of pictures in all parts of the house, and thankfully, the food delivery has been allowed. So we could order a few things to eat and enjoy. Of course, we are still hoping that there will be a real convocation some time in the future.

Handing over the degree to Surabhi

With the family

With parents

With Dad

With Dadi

With Nani

Prof. Sudhir Jain, Chief Guest, on Video Conferencing

In the lawns

Prof. Mohini Mullick and the course on Modal Logic

Yesterday, we had a get together of 1992 Mechanical Engineering graduates of Punjab Engineering College. While sipping tea in the lawns of Director's residence, one of the alums, Akshay Sahni, asked me if Prof. Mohini Mullick taught me when I was a student at IITK. She is her aunt. And that caused me to recollect and write these memories. IIT Kanpur had a strong focus on education and barring a couple of courses, I enjoyed every bit of my time there both inside and outside the classroom.

I registered for two courses with her. The second course was titled, "Modal Logic" and it was a wonderful course that I believe has prepared me well for the life. At the end of the course, she asked us to write a term paper, which could have a proof of any theorem/corollary, or whatever else. Frankly, I didn't understand what was expected in that term paper, and I was too shy of meeting any faculty in those days. So I wasn't going to meet her and ask. None of my friends in the hostel wing were doing this course, so no help from them either. So I went to the Central Library (now known as P K Kelkar Library) and started reading research articles on allied topics.

It turned out that just a one semester course hadn't prepared me to understand much of current research in the area. So I went back, and started reading journals which were several decades old and some of the papers I could understand. I must have spent a few days in library, read scores of articles. But I couldn't just copy any article as my term paper. It ought to be believable that a student of the first course of Modal Logic could potentially think of that. So I kept reading, till I came across this article where the author had proven a theorem and it seemed like a pretty simple theorem that someone like me could potentially think of while doing the course. So I thought of a trivial corollary to the main theorem, built a proof in no time, and submitted the paper.

I had mixed feelings about it. I had perhaps read more papers and knew more, learnt more, than anyone else in the class. So, if the goal of that term paper was to make students learn on their own, the instructor had succeeded brilliantly. But if the goal of the term paper was to make students do something original, it was really trivial. And unlike these days, we weren't taught about giving citations to the papers that we referred to. So I had no mention of the original paper in my term-paper.

A few days later, Prof. Mullick returned everyone's term papers, with feedback. She asked me to meet her in her office after the class. I went to her office thinking that she must have realized that I have done it after reading that paper. But she was very nice to me. She congratulated me for a good term paper and told me to look up a paper in this Journal of Philosophy (don't remember the name) by such and such author in the June, 1900 issue (Don't remember the date, but it was almost 90 years earlier).

How does she know of research done a century earlier. That was her scholarship. I am totally convinced that she knew that my term paper was a trivial derivation of that paper, and more importantly, I had done that trivial derivation after reading that paper. But she chose not to point that out. That was her way of encouraging students.

I am so glad that IIT Kanpur decided to make her an Institute Fellow last month. IIT Kanpur became great because of people like Prof. Mohini Mullick.

My New Inning

I have just received the office order from the office of Dean of Faculty Affairs, IIT Kanpur that my leave (deputation) has been approved. That has prompted me to write this.

I was remembering my first ever visit to any engineering colleges. Two score years ago, my brother had applied for admission to several engineering colleges. One day in June, there was admission "counseling" in two different colleges. In those days, you had to be present in person, show all your certificates, pay some fee, and you get admission. No Internet. And the technology had not yet advanced to the level that he could be present in two colleges at the same time. So it was decided that in one college, I will go with copies of his certificates and the required money to confirm admission.

I was scared. I had never traveled outside Delhi alone. And I had never had more than a 10 rupee note in my pocket, and I was to carry several hundred rupees. I was scared to talk to my own school principal, and here I was supposed to talk to many people, fill up forms correctly, pay at the right window, and what not. What if I fill something wrongly. Reject the admission in a discipline that he wanted or accept in a discipline that he did not want. And, of course, there were no mobiles, not even the STD booths that dotted Indian landscape in the 90s, and even if I could find a phone to call, we didn't have a phone at home. So there would be no connect with home till I return.

But there was no choice. I had to go. Unknown to me, a larger cosmic plan was being hatched and it will only be revealed to me in 2019.

So in the evening, I went to the Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Kashmere Gate. Took a bus. The Grand Trunk Road was not yet a divided highway all the way, and I was sitting in the rickety bus for the entire night to reach the city beautiful. It was 5:00 AM. Our neighbors in Delhi had called up their relatives and told them to expect me in the morning. But it was too early, they may still be sleeping. I waited at the bus stand. At 6:00 AM, I went to their home, got ready, had breakfast and at 08:00 AM, left for the college. That was the first time I was seeing an engineering college. I really don't remember anything about the campus from that visit, and my brother wasn't interested in the disciplines in which he could get admission there. After a few hours on campus, I came back to the bus stop, took a bus to Delhi, and by night, was at home.

My fate was sealed that day. I had to return to this place.

Of course, I have visited them several times in the last 20 years, giving talks on security, IPv6, and on topics related to teaching/learning processes. And it has always been a pleasure. But this will be the first time I will be spending more than 2 days on the campus.

I am wondering if I had not visited PEC then, would the universe have still conspired to help me get there for a new inning. One will never know.

How missing an 'A' grade was a blessing

Grades don't matter in life, Right? Well, actually, they don't. No one has ever asked me for my transcript. But that only means that grades don't matter to others. But some grades mean a lot to yourself. I still remember a couple of my grades since there are stories behind those grades.

My first semester in IITK as a student. I was doing well academically, and was looking forward to a CPI of 10.0. But in the month of November, I fell ill. The illness lasted about 3 weeks. My favorite course that semester was "Engineering Drawing." I was doing extremely well. There was a question in first mid-sem which was solved only by me in the whole class. I drew all those top views and front views so neatly that I will get not only 10/10 but also a comment from the instructor that I deserved 11. (Why he didn't give 11 then will remain a mystery.) So it was the day of the end-sem. And I had 100+ fever. Had no energy to stand for 3 hours drawing all those views. I was debating with myself. Should I go to Health Center, get a medical certificate and take the make up exam a few days later, or should I just go and do whatever I could. I only needed a few marks more to get an 'A' grade in the course. I decided on the latter.

However, luck was not with me. I could not stand even for a few minutes. I requested a chair, but I was told that I had to take the exam in the same condition as all other students. Fair enough, but my body was too weak. I fell down. Got up, took another paracetamol, kept sitting on the floor for some time, then stood up and tried again, and finally gave up. Next day, I went to UG office to request a makeup. Sorry, your name is not in the list of absentees. So no, makeup. I missed getting an 'A' grade by a whisker.

I remained sad for some time. I even tried to apply for repeating the course as an overload so that I could get an 'A' grade. This was the course that I owned, and a 'B' in this caused more hurt than 10 other Bs that I will get in future semesters. In fact, other Bs I didn't care about at all.

But a couple of months later, it dawned upon me that a 'B' grade in the first semester is the best thing that can happen to any student. It liberated me. If you were not in the race for PGM, then how does it matter whether your CPI is 9.9 or 9.7 or 9.5. I wasn't thinking of doing MS/PhD then. And the next seven semesters, I enjoyed life. I was in every council, both at hostel level and institute level. I attended more Students' Senate meetings than any Senator (and I was not a Senator). I was in Institute Hockey Team. Attended every cultural function. Watched every movie. Read books. Did a lot of programming. Read old journals in diverse topics - Economics, Philosophy, and Computer Networks. That helped me in figuring out that I wanted to study Computer Networking. That one 'B' grade had changed my life and I remain thankful to God for that.

Why am I remembering this today. Well, one of the things that I have tried to do in the last 25 years is to help students who have been ill during the end-semester exam. IIT Kanpur allows instructors a lot of freedom in dealing with any issue in the course, and I make full use of that autonomy. And, this semester, one of the students, who was in the top few in my course till the end-semester exam, fell ill and missed the exam. The rules required him to get a medical certificate from Health Center, and then take the exam on a specific day on campus. But he was in no situation to come to campus. Senate had recently passed that if someone is unable to give both the main exam or the make up exam, instructors can assign a 0 in end-sem and assign an appropriate grade (earlier, the language was confusing and some believed that missing an end-sem would get you an F grade even if you were the topper). He needed just a few marks in the end-sem to get an 'A' grade. So I made use of the instructor's autonomy and arranged his exam at his hospital. Assigning him a 'B' grade would have caused the same sadness in me that I had faced 35 years ago.

Remembering my primary school

Today, thanks to the 6th pay commission, I consider myself rich, but I was born in a family with modest means. My father was a school teacher, and this was the time when it was believed that the compensation package for a teacher should be primarily in terms of respect and paying him a decent salary would only convert teaching profession into a commercial activity. So he did get a huge amount of respect, but it meant that when it came to deciding which school I should go to, there was no option but to choose a municipal school in Delhi.

This was a better endowed municipal school with its own building, with separate rooms for different classes, and even a playground, since most of us would want to be in the playground anyway. On any given day, the number of teachers present would be less than 5, which meant that a teacher would be teaching two classes simultaneously, if at all. And we would sit on the floor to listen to him (it was always "him") or watch him write stuff on the blackboard.

By the time I completed my first grade, my father was sure that this was not the place I should hope to get educated. My brother was already going to a nearby private school, but the issue was to afford the tuition of two kids (and later, two more kids, my sisters were younger to me). One day, he visited that private school with me, and talked to the principal and with great diffidence asked if it was possible for me to study there without paying the tuition. My brother had been doing very well in the school. And my father was promising her that I too will do academically very well. The great lady immediately agreed to the proposal. Not only that, she told my father that when my sisters are ready to enter the school, even they won't have to pay the tuition. Only the eldest sibling will pay tuition as long as the younger ones do academically well. She did warn that even without the tuition, it would be expensive as they would expect me to be better dressed, with a coat and tie in the winter and black leather shoes throughout the year and things like that. My father told her that he would be able to afford that much. So I got admission to the "Children Home School." (Don't try to look it up. Sadly, it no longer exists.)

However, she did not agree to admit me in class 2. Her argument was that there is no education in a municipal school. My father pleader with her that he has taught me at home. So finally, she said that if I do well in the first quarterly exam in September, I would be promoted to 2nd class in the middle of the session. The exams happened. I was the topper. My father came to school to remind the principal of her promise, and she told me to sit in the class 2 from the next day.

This was a disaster. The classes 1 and 2 had a history of having a fight every day during the brief break. This must have preceded even the wars in Panipat, and when I had joined class 1, being the eldest, I was the natural army chief. I was the one to whom the other kids looked up to to save them from the attacks from the top. We were at ground floor, and class 2 was on the first floor. We would keep an eye on the staircase and had strategies to delay their barging in to our classroom, and all that. We would be ready with chalks and whatever else we could gather for the counter attack. How could you ask the Army Chief to join the enemy army and restart the career as a soldier.

So, without telling my father or the principal, I continued sitting in Class 1. I was enjoying myself. I knew the subjects, could play all day and still be topper. Why would I change. Next month, when the monthly report card had to be signed by the father, he noticed that I was still in class 1. He came to the school next day, and this time, the principal came to my class, asked me to come out, and go with her to class 2.

In class 2, the maths period was going on. The teacher was very upset that someone is going to join the class after so many months. He started arguing with the principal and finally said that if I could solve the problem that he will give me on the board, then I can stay, otherwise I had to go back to class 1. I still remember the problem. He asked me to add two 8-9 digit numbers. And I was like, this is all they teach you in class 2. I could have done this in my mother's womb. I took only a few seconds to solve this on the board in front of the entire class. And I was allowed to stay.

Now, there was another problem. All the teachers wanted that I copy all the notes of their subjects in my notebooks within the next few days. And all the boys decided that they aren't going to help the commander-in-chief of the enemy army. I didn't know what to do. But as would happen in my life repeatedly in future, whenever I would need some help, some angels would appear and ensure that the job is done. The top three positions in the class were held by three girls, and India had not allowed females to be part of combat duties till then. They were sympathetic and what is more they had the best notes, and an amazing handwriting. So it was a blessing in disguise that all boys refused their notes. Every day, I would take a notebook of one subject from one of the girls.

I left the school after completing class 5th. Thirty five years later, one day, I received a phone call on my landline number, which was on the website. "My name is Ranjana. Does this name ring a bell?," she asked. "Are you from Children Home School?" was my immediate reply. I try not to forget those who have helped me in the past. She was one of the three girls who had helped me immensely in class 2. Internet and social media had made it easy for people to search for long lost friends.

From Left to Right:
Rashmi, me, Anurag, Ranjana

Since that phone call, I have met her twice in the last 10 years. She is running an NGO called India Redefined, visiting lots of campuses, trying to attract students to nation building. Today, the TechKriti team had invited her to IIT Kanpur, and I thought of writing this.